Would you consider 25k a year a low income for a single person?

[Geraldinefox]

Outside of London.
It's not even 25, it's 24.8k.

This is for a single person living alone.

That was my salary when I started working in 2001 and lived in a flat share. More than enough for my social life, living expenses and holidays. But for my life now with a mortgage and 2 DC. Nope.

Guessing you work for something like CAB? Locally the local council debt advice service pays £5k more pa, so a sideways move might be worth a look.

Talking to a friend recently and the NHS is struggling to recruit into admin roles as the wages are higher in Aldi. So two thoughts from that, go straight for more money at a supermarket (or their graduate programme) or try for a move into the NHS with a view to rapid promotion.

I think it's very low. It's barely above minimum wage.

It is low but it is like a lot of jobs like admin and retail that pay just over minimum wage

Yeah I’d say it’s low. 10 years ago my grad salary was £31.25k so I’d say £25k is low.

its a few grand more than minimum wage.
£11.44x37x52 = £22010. If you had a 40hr working week it would be £23,795

I agree with the other posters, it depends on all the other variables.

I was on £25k when I bought my house by myself in 2016 and it was absolutely fine. I went out a lot, managed to furnish the whole house within a year (having spent all savings on my deposit) and must have saved something because I got a new boiler the following year - remember because the warrantee expired this summer). But my mortgage has gone up a lot since then, council tax has increased at least 30%, general cost of living etc. So if I was buying in exactly the same circumstances today I'd probably just about manage it but not as easily as I did then. But you could be in very different circumstances - either a higher deposit and therefore lower mortgage, live in a cheaper area with lower ctax, etc. Or harder ones - the identical house next door to me has always been rented out for at least double my mortgage so that would be harder again.

I don't think you can automatically say a single person on a salary of £25k is worse off than a couple on £36k (which is the national household income) but with 2 kids, for example.

Yes, taking into consideration the current cost of living it is low.

It's double the state pension, so no I don't think it is low.

It is however well below median earnings (all age groups), so I can see why someone might feel otherwise.

well, it depends what your qualifications are. Low for a graduate that has been working a few years, not low for a first year of working post degree. I am on less than that in London, working part time with mortgage paid. You have a mortgage, so you are paying to own your own property, not paying for someone else to own it, so thats good news

Of course it's a low wage, whether you're single, in a couple, worked forever or just started. It's only just over minimum wage.

Whether it's reasonable that it's that low for what the role is, is a different question.

Of course it's low! It's barely minimum wage ie the employer is paying you as little as they can get away with

I was on a lot less than that a few years ago (minimum wage) and I managed to get buy as a single person in an expensive area just outside of London. I suppose because I had a council home, that was the reason I could afford to live - if not I don’t think I would have been able to, no. I didn’t have luxuries as I couldn’t afford them, I had to count every penny and often that left over money went towards topping up my electric and it wasn’t a nice way to live - but I had my bills paid and a roof over my head so it was better than others.

It seems as if, under your circumstances, it is enough. After bills you have enough for savings, the gym etc and to go on holiday, plus you will he getting a £70 a month pay rise. However, you are perfectly entitled to want more. If you haven't got qualifications, spend some time and money on evening classes. Your salary is low enough to get a discount on some courses. Or apply for other jobs.

What kind of work do you do? Could you apply for jobs the next level up? Could you do any training/qualifications in your spare time to increase your earning potential?

I earn just under £25k, I honestly don’t think I could afford to be single. DP is on a much better salary, we pay 50/50 towards our household costs which gives me enough disposable income to live a reasonable life, he pays for all our treats and nice stuff. Without that I think I’d be living quite frugally or would need to find an alternative to up my salary

Whilst you may feel it is low, does it depend on any qualifications you have.

you have achieved a property, which with all the bills for it is just under 50% of your income.

so mortgage and bills are around 50% of your take home pay
not great, but doable - unless you have huge transport costs

That it's below the student loan threshold signifies lowish

Depends on the age and responsibilities of the person.

I earned £25k back in 2008 and took home £1600 pcm. I lived in a flat share for £380pcm with my friends and had no responsibilities. I literally had £1200 a month to buy clothes, holidays and go out drinking.

My mortgage is currently £1,680.

This. It’s about £20 a week more than min wage.

Yes, very low. If you are working 40 hours a week for this then you are only slightly above minimum wage.

Yes I would consider it a very low wage

It’s very low, but standard for an unskilled job. My admin team earn about 25k.

These are the salaries unfortunately for many people. I just looked at a bank clerk job in Surrey! - same or similar salary. You can say; wtf on steroids and they still will find someone working for that sort of money, single and all

It is more than the single persons state pension!

It’s fine for a first job, but by 30’s I’d expect
to be earning more.